IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v258y2020ics0277953620302872.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Household energy insecurity: dimensions and consequences for women, infants and children in low- and middle-income countries

Author

Listed:
  • Boateng, Godfred O.
  • Balogun, Mobolanle R.
  • Dada, Festus O.
  • Armah, Frederick A.

Abstract

Energy insecurity, the lack of access to adequate, affordable, reliable, acceptable, and clean sources of energy for a healthy and sustainable livelihood, poses a challenge to several households. However, the conceptualization of its dimensions and role in the health outcomes of women, infants, and children in most sub-Saharan African countries have rarely been investigated systematically. We assessed the dimensions and adverse consequences of household energy insecurity (HEINS) in a sample of 347 Ghanaians and 420 Nigerians, with over 80% participation of women. The majority of respondents from Ghana (57%) and Nigeria (80%) had experienced of energy insecurity, at least once in the last four weeks. Following the energy insecurity framework, the experiences of participants were classified into physical, behavioral, and economic dimensions of energy insecurity. The consequences of energy insecurity grouped into psychosocial, nutritional, and disease domains. The development of a national as well as a cross-culturally validated scale that embodies these dimensions and domains will facilitate the assessment of the prevalence, causes, and consequences of HEINS. This will eventually enable the development of interventions and policies to mitigate energy insecurity and unearth modifiable factors that influence deleterious maternal, infant and child health outcomes in low-and middle-income countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Boateng, Godfred O. & Balogun, Mobolanle R. & Dada, Festus O. & Armah, Frederick A., 2020. "Household energy insecurity: dimensions and consequences for women, infants and children in low- and middle-income countries," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 258(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:258:y:2020:i:c:s0277953620302872
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113068
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953620302872
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113068?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Martchamadol, Jutamanee & Kumar, S., 2013. "An aggregated energy security performance indicator," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 653-670.
    2. Workman, Cassandra L. & Ureksoy, Heather, 2017. "Water insecurity in a syndemic context: Understanding the psycho-emotional stress of water insecurity in Lesotho, Africa," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 52-60.
    3. González-Eguino, Mikel, 2015. "Energy poverty: An overview," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 377-385.
    4. Winzer, Christian, 2012. "Conceptualizing energy security," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 36-48.
    5. Yudha Prambudia & Masaru Nakano, 2012. "Integrated Simulation Model for Energy Security Evaluation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 5(12), pages 1-25, December.
    6. Jansen, Jaap C. & Seebregts, Ad J., 2010. "Long-term energy services security: What is it and how can it be measured and valued?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 1654-1664, April.
    7. Gwavuya, S.G. & Abele, S. & Barfuss, I. & Zeller, M. & Müller, J., 2012. "Household energy economics in rural Ethiopia: A cost-benefit analysis of biogas energy," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 202-209.
    8. Anthony G. Murray & Bradford F. Mills, 2014. "The Impact Of Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program Participation On Household Energy Insecurity," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 32(4), pages 811-825, October.
    9. Ren, Jingzheng & Sovacool, Benjamin K., 2014. "Quantifying, measuring, and strategizing energy security: Determining the most meaningful dimensions and metrics," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 838-849.
    10. Sovacool, Benjamin K. & Mukherjee, Ishani, 2011. "Conceptualizing and measuring energy security: A synthesized approach," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(8), pages 5343-5355.
    11. van der Kroon, Bianca & Brouwer, Roy & van Beukering, Pieter J.H., 2013. "The energy ladder: Theoretical myth or empirical truth? Results from a meta-analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 20(C), pages 504-513.
    12. Murray, Anthony G. & Mills, Bradford F., 2012. "An application of dichotomous and polytomous Rasch models for scoring energy insecurity," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 946-956.
    13. Narula, Kapil & Reddy, B. Sudhakara, 2016. "A SES (sustainable energy security) index for developing countries," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 326-343.
    14. Eichelberger, L.P., 2010. "Living in utility scarcity: Energy and water insecurity in Northwest Alaska," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 100(6), pages 1010-1018.
    15. Godfred O Boateng & Shalean M Collins & Patrick Mbullo & Pauline Wekesa & Maricianah Onono & Torsten B Neilands & Sera L Young, 2018. "A novel household water insecurity scale: Procedures and psychometric analysis among postpartum women in western Kenya," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(6), pages 1-28, June.
    16. Wutich, Amber & Ragsdale, Kathleen, 2008. "Water insecurity and emotional distress: Coping with supply, access, and seasonal variability of water in a Bolivian squatter settlement," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(12), pages 2116-2125, December.
    17. Phosiso Sola & Caroline Ochieng & Jummai Yila & Miyuki Iiyama, 2016. "Links between energy access and food security in sub Saharan Africa: an exploratory review," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 8(3), pages 635-642, June.
    18. Erahman, Qodri Febrilian & Purwanto, Widodo Wahyu & Sudibandriyo, Mahmud & Hidayatno, Akhmad, 2016. "An assessment of Indonesia's energy security index and comparison with seventy countries," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 364-376.
    19. Ang, B.W. & Choong, W.L. & Ng, T.S., 2015. "Energy security: Definitions, dimensions and indexes," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 1077-1093.
    20. Mersie Ejigu, 2008. "Toward energy and livelihoods security in Africa: Smallholder production and processing of bioenergy as a strategy," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 32(2), pages 152-162, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Davillas, Apostolos & Burlinson, Andrew & Liu, Hui-Hsuan, 2022. "Getting warmer: Fuel poverty, objective and subjective health and well-being," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    2. Shupler, Matthew & Mwitari, James & Gohole, Arthur & Anderson de Cuevas, Rachel & Puzzolo, Elisa & Čukić, Iva & Nix, Emily & Pope, Daniel, 2021. "COVID-19 impacts on household energy & food security in a Kenyan informal settlement: The need for integrated approaches to the SDGs," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    3. Gibellato, Simone & Ballestra, Luca Vincenzo & Fiano, Fabio & Graziano, Domenico & Luca Gregori, Gian, 2023. "The impact of education on the Energy Trilemma Index: A sustainable innovativeness perspective for resilient energy systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 330(PB).
    4. Gordon, Ross & Harada, Theresa & Spotswood, Fiona, 2022. "The body politics of successful ageing in the nexus of health, well-being and energy consumption practices," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 294(C).
    5. Zhu, Lin & Liao, Hua & Burke, Paul J., 2023. "Household fuel transitions have substantially contributed to child mortality reductions in China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Abdullah, Fahad Bin & Iqbal, Rizwan & Hyder, Syed Irfan & Jawaid, Mohammad, 2020. "Energy security indicators for Pakistan: An integrated approach," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    2. Evgeny Lisin & Wadim Strielkowski & Veronika Chernova & Alena Fomina, 2018. "Assessment of the Territorial Energy Security in the Context of Energy Systems Integration," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-14, November.
    3. Zhang, Long & Bai, Wuliyasu & Xiao, Huijuan & Ren, Jingzheng, 2021. "Measuring and improving regional energy security: A methodological framework based on both quantitative and qualitative analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).
    4. Tomasz Rokicki & Aleksandra Perkowska, 2021. "Diversity and Changes in the Energy Balance in EU Countries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-19, February.
    5. Pin Li & Jinsuo Zhang, 2019. "Is China’s Energy Supply Sustainable? New Research Model Based on the Exponential Smoothing and GM(1,1) Methods," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-30, January.
    6. Erahman, Qodri Febrilian & Purwanto, Widodo Wahyu & Sudibandriyo, Mahmud & Hidayatno, Akhmad, 2016. "An assessment of Indonesia's energy security index and comparison with seventy countries," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 364-376.
    7. Ye, Ruike & Zhou, Yunheng & Chen, Jiawei & Tu, Kevin, 2021. "Natural gas security evaluation from a supply vs. demand perspective: A quantitative application of four As," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    8. Gasser, Patrick, 2020. "A review on energy security indices to compare country performances," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    9. Valdés Lucas, Javier Noel & Escribano Francés, Gonzalo & San Martín González, Enrique, 2016. "Energy security and renewable energy deployment in the EU: Liaisons Dangereuses or Virtuous Circle?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 1032-1046.
    10. Raghoo, Pravesh & Surroop, Dinesh & Wolf, Franziska & Leal Filho, Walter & Jeetah, Pratima & Delakowitz, Bernd, 2018. "Dimensions of energy security in Small Island Developing States," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 94-101.
    11. Gong, Xu & Wang, You & Lin, Boqiang, 2021. "Assessing dynamic China’s energy security: Based on functional data analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 217(C).
    12. Narula, Kapil & Reddy, B. Sudhakara, 2016. "A SES (sustainable energy security) index for developing countries," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 326-343.
    13. Pin Li & Jin-Suo Zhang, 2018. "A New Hybrid Method for China’s Energy Supply Security Forecasting Based on ARIMA and XGBoost," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-28, June.
    14. Huang, Shi-Wei & Chung, Yung-Fu & Wu, Tai-Hsi, 2021. "Analyzing the relationship between energy security performance and decoupling of economic growth from CO2 emissions for OECD countries," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    15. Honorata Nyga-Łukaszewska & Tomasz M. Napiórkowski, 2022. "Does Energy Demand Security Affect International Competitiveness? Case of Selected Energy-Exporting OECD Countries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-19, March.
    16. Augutis, Juozas & Krikštolaitis, Ričardas & Martišauskas, Linas & Pečiulytė, Sigita & Žutautaitė, Inga, 2017. "Integrated energy security assessment," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 890-901.
    17. Franki, Vladimir & Višković, Alfredo, 2021. "Multi-criteria decision support: A case study of Southeast Europe power systems," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    18. Pratama, Yoga Wienda & Purwanto, Widodo Wahyu & Tezuka, Tetsuo & McLellan, Benjamin Craig & Hartono, Djoni & Hidayatno, Akhmad & Daud, Yunus, 2017. "Multi-objective optimization of a multiregional electricity system in an archipelagic state: The role of renewable energy in energy system sustainability," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 423-439.
    19. Fahad Bin Abdullah & Rizwan Iqbal & Sadique Ahmad & Mohammed A. El-Affendi & Maria Abdullah, 2022. "An Empirical Analysis of Sustainable Energy Security for Energy Policy Recommendations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-28, May.
    20. Wang, Kai-Hua & Zhao, Yan-Xin & Su, Yun Hsuan & Lobonţ, Oana-Ramona, 2023. "Energy security and CO2 emissions: New evidence from time-varying and quantile-varying aspects," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 273(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:258:y:2020:i:c:s0277953620302872. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.